The
Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has an armed force
to rival that of Israel's Lebanese foe Hezbollah, the head of the Shin
Bet security service said on Wednesday.
"Hamas has military capabilities almost of a state," a spokesman
quoted Yoram Cohen as telling the parliamentary committee on foreign
affairs and defence.
"Some of its military capabilities are even better than Hezbollah's," he said.

He said that the Islamist group's armoury had been swollen by
advanced weaponry smuggled into the coastal territory from Libya since
the fall of Moamer Kadhafi, including shoulder-fired missiles.
Cohen said that Hamas had also developed a sophisticated local arms
industry, using computerised lathes to produce rockets of ranges from
four to 40 kilometres (25 miles).
He said that it currently had 8,000 rockets.

Israel says that both Hamas and the Shiite Hezbollah receive support from Iran.

The Jewish state fought a devastating war against Hezbollah in 2006
that cost the lives of 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and
160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.